A 53-year-old driver who fatally struck a 26-year-old pedestrian in Southeast Portland and then drove off --thwarting any chance of police gathering blood evidence that he was drunk -- was sentenced Friday to 1 1/2 years in prison.

The sentence is the maximum allowed by Oregon sentencing guidelines. Jimmy Dean Patterson's attorney had argued for probation, which is the minimum allowed, but Judge Michael McShane said he was giving Patterson the maximum because Patterson made "a decision to disregard basic human decency" by leaving pedestrian Jason Lee Grant fatally injured on the road.

Patterson turned himself in five days after striking the 26-year-old with his Toyota Tacoma pickup at Southeast 70th Avenue and Foster Road about 7 p.m. Jan. 28.

He acknowledged having four to five drinks, starting about 3 1/2 hours before the hit-and-run. Prosecutors determined that if true, the most his blood-alcohol level would have been was .05 percent, which is below the .08 legal limit for driving. But prosecutor Chuck Sparks said he didn't think Patterson was telling the truth about how much he drank that night.